Cristiano Ronaldo left this fan covered in blood after he booted the ball into his face during a Spanish premiership game. The 27-year-old Real Madrid star was facing Getafe with the scores at nil-nil when he cleared the ball with his powerful right foot. He hit the ball with such ferocity the helpless fan couldn’t…

Police have launched a series of dawn raids and detained two people in connection with the mail bombs posted to Celtic boss Neil Lennon. A 41-year-old man and a 43-year-old man were taken into custody under the Explosive Substances Act. They were swooped on by officers at two addresses in Ayrshire. Following the raids at…

Manchester United fans have set up a campaign to get Paul Hardcastle’s iconic hit ’19’ to number one. The Red Devils need one point from their remaining two games to secure a record 19th championship – overtaking bitter rivals Liverpool in the process. They want to celebrate the historic moment by downloading the 1985 song…

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has revealed he’ll join Twitter this summer – but only if his best mate gets 50,000 followers. The 30-year-old midfielder will join the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Michael Owen and Cristiano Ronaldo on the social network if actor buddy Paul McGrattan reaches the milestone. McGrattan, who is inseparable from the England…

A top judge has called for a tax on Premier League clubs to pay the cost of police investigations into catching violent football hooligans. District Judge Richard Blake said it was ”wrong” that ordinary taxpayers are paying thousands of pounds to prosecute football thugs. Instead he demanded that clubs impose a ”one per cent tax”…

A bomb attack on three top Celtic targets was today branded a “despicable and cowardly act” by the superintendent leading the investigation. The explosives mailed to Celtic boss Neil Lennon, his lawyer QC Paul McBride and MSP Trish Godman have baffled police, who say they have seen nothing like them before. The huge police team…

Former Liverpool owner George Gillett thought captain Steven Gerrard was gay, according to an explosive new book. The American, whose controversial co-ownership with Tom Hicks ended last year, thought Gerrard’s partner Alex was a man – and not a striking blonde. Gillett then contacted Hicks and said: “Tom, there’s something you need to know. Our team…

A website poking fun at Chelsea flop Fernando Torres has become an Internet sensation – despite only featuring a single word. More than 850,000 people have logged onto the site called ‘Has Torres Scored for Chelsea?‘. The one-page website is simply a white background with the word ‘NO’ written in large black letters. A staggering…

Cambridge University boffins today revealed the 100 words you need to be a football manager after Fabio Capello boasted his broken English is no bar to success. The Italian recently brushed aside concerns about his language skills by claiming he only needs a vocabulary of 100 words to speak to the average England international. Academics…

High-tech shin pads which alert referees if a footballer has dived were unveiled by a British inventor today. The new shin pads, which could end the culture of cheating in British football, are equipped with built-in sensors and magnets that detect the impact of tackles. If a player wearing the pads dives without contact being…

Movie star Russell Crowe saw the funny side after being the subject of an April Fool’s gag. Pranksters at Bristol City FC published a picture of the Hollywood hardman wearing a club tracksuit alongside manager Keith Millen at the training ground. The stunt, mocked up by supporter Huw Griffiths, claimed that Crowe – a keen…

Aston Villa defender Richard Dunne could be a summer target for Manchester United and Liverpool. The Irish international is in the bad books at Villa Park following two embarrassing off-the-field incidents. He was recently fined two weeks wages for his drunken antics on a recent training camp and nearly came to blows with assistant manager…

The Porsche 911 that Man United and England legend David Beckham drove in the early days of his relationship with future wife Victoria is up for sale, it emerged today. Becks bought the Porsche in August 1997 as a fresh-faced 22-year-old and famously drove his first supercar from the Cheshire showroom with ‘Posh Spice’ in…

Manchester City are planning a bid for Wolves goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey as they plan to offload Shay Given. Wales international Hennessey, 24, was on Man City’s books as a youngster but was released in favour of Kasper Schmeichel. But since leaving the north-west outfit, Hennessey has flourished and will face England this weekend at the…

Liverpool defender Glen Johnson has praised teammate Andy Carroll, saying he scares the life out of opposition defences. The pair are currently on England duty as the Three Lions look to face Wales this weekend in a Euro 2012 qualifier at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Carroll, who signed from Newcastle for a club record…

John W. Henry, the owner of Liverpool FC, appears to have taken a swipe at former star Fernando Torres following his Anfield departure. The American businessman, who bought Liverpool last year from compatriots George Gillett and Tom Hicks, was responding to comments rumoured to be made by the Spaniard. Henry said: “Someone was saying that…

The age-old rumour that football fans in Manchester support City and NOT United is untrue, a new study has revealed. Researchers polled almost 500 fans who live in the Greater Manchester area – and more than three quarters follow the Red Devils. In fact only around one in four Manchester-based football fans support the nouveau…